Tennis was pronounced dead 15 years ago, when Sports Illustrated ran a cover story wondering “Is Tennis Dying?” While the question was rhetorical, it brought focus to the fact that the sport had been usurped by more youthful, edgy sports especially since the introduction of the action sports category.

“Of course tennis matters to all of us who love it,” Carillo said. “But does your average American jamoke on the street care? I don’t know. The casual fan only hears about tennis a couple of times a year. I’m not sure it was ever much more than that.”

The raw numbers show that the tennis world has shrunk, although it has also migrated to places like Serbia and Eastern Europe where it seems future champions are being groomed. In the US, it is less obvious about where the next great American tennis generation is coming from. However, ESPN points to some data that shows that there are more players interested in the sport, as one of the fastest growing sports. Still, the fan numbers have seemed to slip, and probably pay less attention except during the few big events each year.

As the US Open approaches, it seems that the growing importance of women in the sport (and I would guess minority involvement is helping) have helped the sport in its recent ascent. And the geek in me says that non-traditional controller video games may also play a role. Blame it on the Wii…

via ESPN: Tennis in America witnessing growth